Futurologists predict the lucrative careers for 2030 that your children should be aiming for today.

Grandparents and parents are being advised to radically update the careers
advice they give to children on the jobs that will earn the most money
in future.

Experts warn that it would be wrong to assume that today’s money-spinning
vocations such as banking, law or stockbroking will remain the best paid
jobs of the future.

In 10 to 20 years’ time the chances are that our jobs and the way we work
will be very different, if predictions by leading futurologists are any
guide.

Job titles that do not exist now, such as a “vertical farmer” or a “body part
maker”, could be mainstream professions, in much the same way that social
media consultants have emerged in the past five years. [Related link: Look for a new job now]

“All of these [ideas] spring from trends,” said James Bellini, a leading
futurologist. “Britain’s population is ageing, and an older population will
need different health care, for example.”

Mr Bellini posited the idea of an elderly well-being consultant, who
specialises in personalised care for older patients, or a memory
augmentation surgeon who helps counter memory loss.

He also saw big changes in farming as food resources became scarce, with
genetically modified crops becoming common and crops grown vertically in
areas resembling multi-storey car parks to save space.

Ian Pearson, a futurologist who wrote You Tomorrow, sees job growth in the
field of augmented reality, where the real world is overlaid with
computer-generated images.

“When you look at a building it’s constrained by planning laws, but in
cyberspace you can make it look however you want,” he said.

“A company with a high street presence could make their shop look like Downton
Abbey, or set it in a post-nuclear apocalypse environment.”

Mr Pearson also argued that the better technology gets, the more people will
have to focus on their “human skills” to survive in the workforce.

“As computers get more intelligent, the work that will take over will require
human skills like leadership, motivation and compassion,” he said.

Karen Moloney, a futurologist and business psychologist, agreed. “The world
will divide into those who understand technology and those who don’t,”
she said.

“Those who can program will create the world we live in, so I would say get
yourself into that field. If you can’t, find yourself something to do that
is hyper-human, which computers can’t do, such as entertainment, sport,
caring and personal services industries.”

Ms Moloney suggested job titles such as a haptic programmer, who uses the
science of touch to develop products and services, and, more
controversially, a child programmer. “If we continue to avail ourselves of
what science makes possible, in 30 years’ time you could sit down and in
theory design the child you want,” she said. “It is biologically feasible,
if ethically abhorrent.

“We spot weak signals on the horizon that may or may not grow into something.
You’ve got to have a bit of imagination to create a future for yourself.”

Whatever professions may emerge in future, economists, recruitment specialists
and futurologists agree that the way we work will change considerably.

James Callander, managing director of recruiter FreshMinds, said the current
trend of moving jobs more frequently would only gather pace.

“If you wind back 20 years, people had a job for life,” he said. “Nowadays,
most graduates leave their first job within three years. People are moving
more, and that will accelerate in future.”

Even the notion of a job might sound fixed in future, according to Mark
Beatson, chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel &
Development.

“You’ll still see people working for one company their whole life, but others
will move around more often,” he said. “People will move between assignments
and it will be about how these blend together in a sequence of roles.”

Mr Beatson said people with good levels of education were still likely “to be
best placed in the workplace”.

However, education should be more about how you learn, rather than for
knowledge itself.

“If your child’s career is derailed for whatever reason and people do need to
re-skill themselves, it will be easier if you have a good education and are
in the habit of learning,” he said. [Related link: Find a better paid job online]

• Digital architect: Designs a selection of virtual buildings for
advertisers and retailers to market their products

• Home carer: Helps care for elderly people in their own homes

• Elderly well-being consultant: Specialises in holistic and
personalised care for the elderly

• Body part maker: Creates living body parts for athletes and
soldiers

• Nano-medic: Creates very small implants for health monitoring
and self-medication

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